McCrary retiring from Alabama Power, Crosswhite named new CEO (updated with photo gallery)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Charles McCrary is retiring as chief executive of Alabama Power Co. after nearly 13 years at the helm, the company’s board of directors said today.

Mark A. Crosswhite, 51, will become Alabama Power’s new president and CEO March 1. Crosswhite returns to Alabama Power from Southern Company, Alabama Power’s parent, where he served as chief operating officer.

McCrary not only has led the power company through some of its greatest natural-disaster challenges, but has been an active leader in a number of civic and business organizations. He took an atypical step into the spotlight and created a controversy when he publicly challenged Birmingham area leadership on its lack of unity and inability to accomplish things other Southeastern and Alabama cities were getting done in March 2006.

When Hurricane Ivan caused the largest rash of power outages in Alabama Power history, McCrary led the company as it worked with its crews and those from other states to get electricity restored. He would do so again during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the April 2011 tornadoes that ravaged the state. It was McCrary who led the company to institute a new plan to start informing areas of the state when they could expect to have their power restored.

Although his position as the head of one of Alabama’s largest and most influential companies made him a sought-after participant in numerous events and activities, McCrary also sought to be involved in certain charities and occasions he personally felt strongly about.

But it was a speech to the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham in March 2006 that signaled McCrary was looking to do more than glad-hand at black-tie dinners and was willing to use his position to help bring about significant change in the Magic City.

''There will be a far smaller Birmingham to lead unless all of us take action,'' McCrary said in the speech.

He questioned the leadership of the different municipalities and counties in the metro area for not working together and seeming to be more interested in who gets credit for something than focusing on the greater good for the metro area. He also put a share of the blame on the business community for not stepping forward to bring about the change.

Although his comments initially drew audible gasps and some visible signs of shock at the time for their directness, McCrary’s speech earned a standing ovation.

His remarks are credited with helping bring about the merger of the Birmingham Metropolitan Development Board, the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Region 2020 to create the Birmingham Business Alliance. He played an active role in the merger team and continued to take on major positions within the BBA.

McCrary’s own work with the BBA, the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Commerce has been significant and Alabama Power’s own economic development office has been a key player in many of the state’s biggest economic development victories. He served on the BBA’s search committee to find a new CEO and its implementation team to put its “Blueprint Birmingham” five-year strategic plan into action.

Gov. Robert Bentley tapped McCrary to lead his transition team when he took office.

While the spotlight is not the electric apparatus he covets, McCrary does have a personal fascination with old radios and jukeboxes. He has several of each in his home and can often be found tinkering with their inner workings.

McCrary will now have more time for such leisurely pursuits in retirement while Crosswhite fills the shoes McCrary has left at the power company. Shouldering responsibility is nothing new for Crosswhite.

Mark Crosswhite will become CEO of Alabama Power Co. March 1. (contributed)

In his last position at Southern Company, Crosswhite oversaw operations that include generation, transmission, engineering and construction services, system planning, research and environmental affairs, fleet operations, and trading. He also had responsibility over wholesale energy providers Southern Power and Southern Wholesale Energy.

“It is an honor to rejoin the ranks of the 6,700 employees of Alabama Power who, for more than a century, have been dedicated to serving communities across our state,” Crosswhite said.

Crosswhite first joined Southern Company in 2004 as senior vice president and general counsel for Southern Company Generation. Prior to joining Southern Company, he was a partner in the Birmingham law firm of Balch & Bingham, where he practiced in the Energy Section for 17 years.

Crosswhite is very familiar with Alabama Power and Birmingham.

Crosswhite first joined Alabama Power in 2006 as senior vice president and counsel, where he oversaw the company’s legal matters. In 2008, he was named executive vice president for external affairs at Alabama Power, where he directed regulatory affairs, economic and community development, public relations, environmental affairs, and governmental affairs.

He also has experience leading a Southern Company state subsidiary, having served as CEO of Florida-based Gulf Power from 2010 until 2012.

A native of Decatur, Crosswhite’s family has deep roots in Alabama, dating to the early 19th century. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1984 from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a J.D. degree in 1987 from the University of Alabama School of Law.

Crosswhite serves on several civic and nonprofit boards, including the executive committee of the Birmingham Business Alliance, and the boards of directors for the University of Alabama Law School Foundation and the Virginia Samford Theatre. He is vice chair of the Electricity Committee of the Section of Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law of the American Bar Association, a member of the Edison Electric Institute Legal Committee, and a graduate of Leadership Alabama.